Under the Hornbeams cover art

Under the Hornbeams

A True Story of Life in the Open

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Under the Hornbeams

By: Emma Tarlo
Narrated by: Emma Tarlo
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About this listen

'A really worthwhile January pick-me-up' - MARIELLA FROSTRUP

'Reading it feels like slowing down to take a breath' - EVENING STANDARD

'To sit here with my new companions, observing the sun climbing in the morning sky until the point where it illuminates us on the dewy grass, feels like an extraordinary privilege - a taste of enchantment before the beginning of the working day.'

Emma Tarlo first meets Nick and Pascal when out walking in Regent's Park, where they are living without shelter under the trees. Gradually, through the sharing of food and life stories, Emma develops a friendship with the pair. Their conversations under the open sky prompt Emma to question many things in her own life, transforming her understanding of what freedom might look like. Under the Hornbeams is a life-affirming story about the power of human connection which upturns our preconceptions about home, work and community.

'[A] preconception busting life-affirming memoir.' - THE BOOKSELLER

©2024 Faber & Faber (P)2024 Faber & Faber Poverty & Homelessness Social Sciences England
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...I could write a thousand words or no words because the impact this book has made on my heart and soul is much more more a feeling. While revealing the depth of the storyteller and her circle and the main characters, the inner journey I made was complex, insightful and humbling in a way I am sure each individual listener will also find a personal experience. Thank you so much for sharing so openly.

Few words exist to reflect the depth of this book....heart and mind changing.

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A beautiful audiobook. A subtle story in a way but also sacred and moving and so human. The author reads it perfectly

Soulful

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This book made me think about many aspects of life and attitudes. It was calming and made me grateful and appreciative of many aspects of life. Thank you

Very thought provoking.

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The author Emma slowly adjusts to a life observing and gradually intertwining with the trees and life in the ever changing Regents park. She follows and joins the lead of self proclaimed “hobos” Nick and Pascal, total advocates of living within and as part of nature, with no shelter other than the canopies of the hornbeam trees. The conversations of the three, frequently joined by B (and Lizzie his adored rescue dog) serve to nurture all four as the seasons change during the course of a year. A gently paced book, the enduring nurture and beauty of trees in the natural world

A gentle captivating reveal of life intertwined with nature

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This is no ordinary book. It changes everyone who listens to it or reads it. It is a profoundly moving meditation on the human spirit, challenging, humorous at times, and a glimpse of goodness, kindness, spiritual depth, modesty and honesty when the world lacks much of these things. It restored my faith in humanity. Gratitude to Emma Tarlo for sharing this experience AND for reading her own work so beautifully.

An indelible footprint

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